{"id":1592,"date":"2012-11-13T01:02:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-13T01:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/pope-benedict-brings-joy-to-peers-at-elderly-home\/"},"modified":"2012-11-13T01:02:00","modified_gmt":"2012-11-13T01:02:00","slug":"pope-benedict-brings-joy-to-peers-at-elderly-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/pope-benedict-brings-joy-to-peers-at-elderly-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Benedict brings joy to ‘peers’ at elderly home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Rome, Italy, Nov 12, 2012 \/ 06:02 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Pope Benedict visited fellow seniors at a home for the aged in Rome on Nov. 12, speaking to their needs and reminding all of them of the special role they play in this \u201ctime of sunset.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI come among you as the Bishop of Rome, but also as an elder on a visit to his peers,\u201d the Pope told residents of the Long Live the Elderly Home, a project of the charitable Community of Sant'Egidio.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI understand the difficulties, problems, and limitations of this age,\u201d he said during his remarks to the seniors' assisted-living home located on the Gianicolo Hill near the Vatican.<\/p>\n

\tLooking back on his own life, the Pope called it a natural tendency in one's old age to envy the \u201cfresh energy\u201d of youth and all of those plans for the future. The past can become \u201cveiled with sadness\u201d if considered with remorse, he told the group of seniors, but this is not what God wants.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt is nice to be elders!\u201d Pope Benedict said emphatically.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIn every age, we must be able to detect the presence and blessing of the Lord and the treasures it contains. Do not ever be imprisoned by sadness! We have received the gift of a long life. In our face there is always the joy of feeling loved by God and never sadness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe directed the seniors' attention to the Bible \u2013 in which longevity is considered a blessing from God \u2013 noting that elders were rightly honored in the past.<\/p>\n

\tBut in a modern world \u201cdominated by the logic of efficiency and profit,\u201d the elderly are often pushed to the wayside, considered useless and left to loneliness.<\/p>\n

\tThis is the mark of a deteriorating civilization, the Pope asserted, since a community is defined by how it treats its elderly members.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHe who makes room the elderly makes room for life! Whoever receives the elderly welcomes life!\u201d declared the 85-year-old pontiff.<\/p>\n

\tEntrusting the group to the love and protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Pope encouraged his fellow octogenarians and upward with these words: \u201cThe Pope loves you and is counting on all of you!\u2026God will always be with you and with those who support you with their love and their support.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe also reminded them that the elderly have a special vocation to prayer, shattering the illusion that the elderly are non-productive members of society.<\/p>\n

\tAt the end of his remarks, the Pope called on all people to heed the \u201cwisdom of life\u201d the elderly bear and to support them with love and friendship. The alternative is loneliness, which is so devastating because people are relational beings.<\/p>\n

\tThe Pope's visit coincides with the European Year of Ageing and Solidarity. The European continent grows ever older as people live longer and the young fail to reproduce at a rate to sustain current population levels.<\/p>\n

\tLife expectancy in Italy is 79.2 years for men and 84.6 years for women. But the Italian birth rate is the second lowest in the Western world, averaging just over one child per woman.<\/p>\n

\tThe result is a dwindling number of younger working people supporting an ever larger number of retirees, which can cause the sort of inter-generational friction, the Pope observed.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rome, Italy, Nov 12, 2012 \/ 06:02 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict visited fellow seniors at a home for the aged in Rome on Nov. 12, speaking to their needs and reminding all of them of the special role they play in this “time of sunset.”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe"],"yoast_head":"\nPope Benedict brings joy to 'peers' at elderly home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rome, Italy, Nov 12, 2012 \/ 06:02 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict visited fellow seniors at a home for the aged in Rome on Nov. 12, speaking to their needs and reminding all of them of the special role they play in this “time of sunset.”...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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